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In the spring of 1970, I was a student at Westerville High School and a cast member of the spring musical under the direction of Ron Nocks. On one Thursday evening rehearsal, I was neither an experienced actor nor a talented one and I was most certainly not able to act as if I was not afraid of heights as I carefully climbed down a naked flight of stairs onto a raked stage wearing a helmet obscuring my vision. Later on, as a teacher, I would have hoped that I could have cared enough to individually help a student through a difficult problem and possibly even help them gain confidence. I know that many of my students would agree that I was that caring teacher. I know that some would not.

That evening, Ron Nocks was not that caring teacher. At the rundown that evening in Room 201 in the presence of the entire cast and crew, he publicly dressed me down for my lack of confidence and my lack of courage. He used his wicked and well-honed sarcasm to embarrass me and make me an outcast among kids who had been my classmates and neighbors since kindergarten. Specifically, he asked me if my toilet was closer to the floor to compensate for my fear of heights.

I was never a victim of sexual abuse by Mr. Nocks or anyone else. I know that most of the students in that room loved and worshipped Mr. Nocks. To a man with the ego and talent such as his, it leads him to appreciate the hero worship among his favorites and sometimes to take advantage of them as he has admitted. It also leads to an arrogance that allows him to verbally abuse the students who were not his favorites. It is this collection and exercise of raw personal power toward subordinates that has become such a difficult issue at present.

I do not desire nor expect an apology. If he is in such a mood, maybe he could join me in apologizing to my students who received some of the same sarcastic treatment because that night in Room 201, he set an example and gave me, a high school junior, permission to act that way to my students in the future. That is the crux of this problem. That is the chain of abuse that goes from generation to generation.

I will never receive justice nor will any other victim of the abuse of power by those with talent and position. But if there is justice to be paid, follow the advice of Coach Hayes and Pay it Forward. Don’t abuse. Don’t accept abuse and don’t tolerate it towards others in your presence or in your organization.

That said, there is a paradox. Before and even after that night, I was a fan of the work of Mr. Nocks and I attended his plays. More specifically, I admired and emulated him as a public address announcer during the morning announcements and I became a very accomplished sports public address announcer in San Diego. That’s the rub. That’s the quandary. That is the love-hate relationship we have in our society with people who have immense talent or power. But, that night, he hurt me.

officer of the court. n. any person who has an obligation to promote justice and effective operation of the judicial system, including judges, the attorneys who appear in court, bailiffs, clerks and other personnel.

The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump is the appointing officer for all federal judicial vacancies and he is at the top of the chain of command for all military courts. Should the president, as an officer of the court, be obliged ethically and legally to promote justice and effective operation of the judicial system?

Article II, Section 2 says the president “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”

Fellow birther Sheriff Joe Arpaio neither accepted or responsibility for his actions nor did he express remorse for his gross disregard for the law that led to his conviction for contempt in the case of his treatment of undocumented individuals in Maricopa County, Arizona. Nonetheless, Donald Trump issued a presidential pardon for his friend and political supporter. Did the president subvert justice and ethically violate his duties as an officer of the court?

On Wednesday, November 1, President Trump was attributed the following quote referring to the judicial proceedings for the New York Terrorist,

“We have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. They’ll go through court for years. At the end, they’ll be — who knows what happens. We need quick justice, and we need strong justice. Much quicker and much stronger than we have right now, because what we have right now is a joke, and it’s a laughing stock. And no wonder so much of this stuff takes place.“

Did the President promote justice and effective operation of the judicial system?

On Friday, the president issued the above tweet. As commander and chief of the armed forces and therefore an officer of the court, did the President promote justice and effective operation of the judicial system? More importantly, did the President prejudice the case and provide Sergeant Bergdahl an avenue for appeal?

The United States Constitution guarantees that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty no matter how despicable the act and no matter how evil the individual. After the above tweet, can Sayfullo Saipov receive a fair trial in our country? Is it possible for this terrorist to appeal any conviction on the basis of the fact that the President of the United prejudiced the jury pool in one single tweet?

Has President Donald J. Trump violated his oath of office to support and defend the constitution by undermining our justice system? Is the president bound by his oath of office to the ethics of an officer of the court in our federal and military court system?

The charge of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct peculiar to officials, such as perjury of oath, abuse of authority, bribery, intimidation, misuse of assets, failure to supervise, dereliction of duty, unbecoming conduct, and refusal to obey a lawful order.

I believe that Mr. Trump has committed a string of offenses that fall under the category of high crimes and misdemeanors. I believe that the House of Representatives should refer this string of offenses to the Senate in the form of an Article of Impeachment.

Notice that after I type this, the individual letters stand very still and form words and thoughts. Letters have been doing this for thousands of years. That’s what letters do best. It is not a challenge for letters. They don’t need a videographer to take their picture as they stand still. They don’t need an entire internet to celebrate the fact that they just stand still. That’s what differentiates letters from people.

DreaganStar

by Nan Klee

Available now on

CHAPTER 1 – PREFLIGHT

They had ordered, rather than requested her presence, then left her waiting in a small anti-chamber for well over an hour. Now slightly miffed, Doctor Samantha Alexander considered leaving for a bite of lunch, when a massive blond jack of a man in a black security uniform opened the tall polysteel door and silently gestured her into the Board of Directors’ chamber. She followed him into the spacious room, feeling an unusual suspicion. The inner chamber felt even more sterile than the majority of the artificial, underground environment in the city of Proteus. Thin sheets of polished gray moon rock decorated the always-present, dull polysteel walls that sealed in the atmosphere. Lighting, as always indirect and psychologically effective, directed Samantha to the long slate-blue table at the other end of the cold room. Seated behind the blue lacquered, crescent-shaped table waited Dreagan Corporation’s Board of Directors, who, along with the colony’s Founder, Doctor Jonathan Dreagan, made up this ruling body of this pseudo-socialistic lunar colony.

From a Facebook Friend: I don’t hate Obama, I simply believe he is destroying what made the US great. In that regard, he has, unfortunately, been somewhat successful…now we need to rebuild what will make us great again…Again, unfortunately, neither presidential candidate seems up to the task.

So, what was it that made America Great?

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I believe it was the immigrants who took advantage of the educational system and the entrepreneurial opportunities and created new avenues to growth. You know, the educational system that your Republican Party is trying to defund and destroy.

I believe it was the unions that my father and I were members of that allowed workers to earn a living wage and move into the middle class. You know, the ones that the Republican Party is trying to destroy.

I believe that it is the Constitution that guarantees the right to vote, the right to fair representation, the right to be treated equally and fairly and the right to control your own body. You know, the one that your Republican Party is trying to pervert with voter suppression, gerrymandering, institutional discrimination, and oppression of women.

When I served my country as a sailor and a teacher, I did it for every man, woman and child of every religion and color to have a future. Not so that the same old groups from the past could have their power, their money, their prejudices, and, of course, their guns.

I believe that my America is still great and my President is one of the reasons why.

Happy Independence Day, the day that we remember that America is Still Great.

He was the prototypical angry black man. He wanted something that people of his color thought they deserved. He wanted more than what the white culture of the time was willing to give him. Respect. Respect for his religion. Respect for his view that war was unjust. Respect for his humanity. Respect for his race. Respect for his chosen name. At no small sacrifice, he earned that respect for himself and for more than just himself.

More than 20 years ago, I was working an evening basketball game following an afternoon fight shown on ABC Sports. We were just coming into the arena. The fights had been over for almost an hour. At that moment, The Greatest, then hobbled by Parkinson’s disease was slowly shuffling out of the arena. The remaining crowd stood waiting for just this moment in quiet reverence as my fellow crew members and I did. It was a mark of respect earned at great cost by an athlete who had no equal and a man whose greatness outside the ring earned respect and equality for so many.